Process of renovating used journal box waste



June 5, 1956 c. MONAMARA 2,749,209

PROCESS OF RENOVATING USED JOURNAL BOX WASTE Filed Aug. 4, 1953 INVENTOR L'zo C. Mc NA MARA :IB vmm mt menu Unitcd States Patent PROCESS OF RENOVATING USED JOURNAL BOX WASTE Leo C. McNamara, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application August 4, 1953, Serial No. 372,322

2 Claims. (Cl. 8-441) This invention relates to a process or a method of handling used journal box packing waste as it comes from collecting points along railways, usually being shipped in drums to a central waste renovating plant. This waste has been taken from railway rolling stock journal boxes after having been in service for some time, particularly after the waste becomes gummed up and heavily contaminated with dust, dirt, water, and other matter which eventually gets into the journal boxes.

The used Waste will have congealed masses of oils and greases and will also have a rather high percentage of water embodied in the mass. Part of this water is free, part is carried by oil films, and part is actually absorbed within the waste fibers.

A rather large industry has been built up in the waste renovation field, and it is now a very common practice to reclaim or renovate the used Waste and restore it for use again in the journal boxes. In this renovation process, the foreign matter must be removed from the waste, and the water content both externally of the waste fibers and internally thereof presents an initial problem of removal. Furthermore, the waste must be so handled that under present specifications the size of the threads or fibers must be held to preferably over 4 inches and in any event there must not be more than 10 per cent of the fibers under 4 inches in length in the mass of the renovated waste.

Applicants assignee has been engaged in the waste renovation business for many years and has devised many machines and parts thereof and processes for handling this used'waste. Attention is particularly directed to U. S. Letters Patent Nos. 1,783,407; 1,845,676; 2,000,291; and 2,090,260.

The trend in the process of renovating this used waste has always been to develop a better and product and at the same time promote an efficient use of the washing medium, lubricating oil, in order to make the process commercially acceptable from the standpoint of cost. The process must be largely automatic in order to prevent labor costs from rising to a too great proportion of the overall cost of the reclamation.

Elementally, the present process involves the use of a plurality of waste washing units plus a final resaturation unit, wherein there is a common direction of flow of the used waste through those machines, one machine to another, and at the same time there is a constant counter current flow of wash oil from the resaturation unit to the initial wash unit. That is, dirty waste is fed into one end of this system of units to have a clean, reoiled waste coming out at the last machine, while at the same time, clean wash oil is fed in at the last unit and carried through to the. first or initial unit so that the waste is constantly encountering a cleaner oil condition as it traverses the various units.

Also involved in the process is a control of temperatures in relation to the specific units in the system in order that free water may be removed from the initial incoming dirty waste without creating a foaming condition in the wash oil and most importantly without transforming the water into steam or vapor and driving it into the fibers to the detriment thereof.

The free water which is outside of the waste fibers and which also is not entrapped in a more or less emulsified form within films of oil constitutes the greater volume of water encountered in this used waste. The water absorbed within the fibers is removed from the used waste in a bath of hotter oil than is the free water.

The invention is described in reference to the drawing in which the single view is a diagrammatic illustration of the steps involved in the process.

The dirty, used packing waste 10 is brought to the first wash tank 11, and dumped in at an end thereof, and when advisable, new waste previously unoiled is likewise added to the desired percentage at this point, so that the new waste will become thoroughly oiled by the time all of the waste has progressed through the entire system.

The tank 11 is filled with lubricating oil of the type ordinarily employed in saturating the waste for use in the journal boxes. The temperature of the oil in this tank 11 is maintained around 200 F., and at least is held below the boiling point of water. The Waste 10 is supported within the tank 11 on a horizontally disposed screen 12, and is opened up and moved along the tank from the incoming end to the discharge end, by any suitable means, herein shown by two sets of picks 13 and 14, all of the construction of which picks and their action over a' screen in a wash tank is clearly illustrated and described in the U. S. Patent No. 1,783,407.

The waste moving to the forward end of the screen 12 is carried up a conveyer belt 15 and is passed under a set of wringer rolls 16 so that much of the oil is extracted from the waste which discharges over the end of the belt 15 into a second wash tank 17. The construction and operation of the wringer roll device is illustrated and described in the U. S. Patent No. 1,845,676. The wringer operation is employed so that the waste fibers do not become too firmly matted or compressed together for further or subsequent washings.

This waste coming from the tank 11 is dumped into the tank 17 which to all intents and purposes is a duplicate in construction of the tank 11, carrying the screen 18 and the two sets of picks 19 and 20.

This tank 17 carries a bath of lubricating oil well above the screen 18, and the temperature of the oil in this tank 17 is made to be within the range of from 260 to 280 F., that is, the temperature of the oil in the tank 17 is far above the boiling point of water. that the water which has been trapped within the fibers and also within theoil films is boiled out, and this waterwhich is in relatively small quantity, comes out gradually so that there is no perceptible forming in this tank 17.

Going back to the tank 11, since the oil temperature therein is less than the boiling point, the water will be heated to the temperature of the oil which is still below boiling point of water.

That is, the oil becomes less viscous than in the packing waste coming to the plant for renovation, and therefore more readily permits the free water, particularly as the waste traverses the screen 12 under the gentle stirring and pulling apart action of the picks, to fiow from the waste and tend to drop below the screen 12 to be even tually withdrawn from the tank 11 in the oil taken therefrom as hereinafter described. Consequently, water removed in this manner will not induce foaming in the tank 11.

Waste going from the tank 11 to the tank 17 will have had removed by far the greater quantity of water originally carried. In the tank 17, water which may be within the waste fibers is heated to well above the water boilingpointto be vaporized in the presence of the hot oilin the Patented June 5, 1956 It is in this tank 17,-

which again is identical in mechanical construction and.

operationto the tanks 11 and 17 all as shown in the earlier Patent No. 1,783,407.

Reference however is made to the screens carried; in these wash tanksnvhich screens are made-to be such that they will control the size of the. fibers dropping therethrough. by reason of the spacing of the elements. in. the:

screen. This process of controlling fiber. lengthis usedin conjunction with thegrid screen of thepatent above indicated, No. 2,000,291.

The temperature. of oil carried. in. the tank 23 which. again is carried well above the. screen therein. is. within that same range of from 260 to 230 F., the oil again being well above the boiling point of water so that any further traces of Water remaining in the waste coming from the tank 17' will be elfectively removed in the tank 23. Now from the tank 23, the waste will discharge over the conveyer 24 from under the wringer roller 25 and be: dumpedinto a resaturation tank 26.

This tank 26 for all practical purposes is similar in construction to the previous tanks in the system, namely tanks 11, 17, and 23. In the tank 26, there is carried. a bath of oil well above the screen 27 therein, this oil being at room temperature. The waste is carried from the tank 26 up the conveyer 23 and from under the wringer. rollers 29 to be dumped into any suitable container such. as a drum 30. It is to be noted that the wringer. rollers 29 are so adjusted asto pressure on the waste over. the conveyer 28 that there will be the desired percentage of oil remaining in the waste when it is dumped in the container 30, so that such waste will be ready for reuse in journal boxes, and will be at room temperature.

So far in the description, only the travel of the Waste has been indicated as it traverses the various units. In any event, the waste has been described as being carried from its state when received from the various collecting points until it has been actually rearranged as to its fiber intermeshing, the solids of dirt and like particles have been removed, the water has been removed, the. congealed oils have been removed, and in factethe old lubricating oil with which the waste was previously saturated has been washed out, and the waste has in eflect been supplied with. new clean lubricating oil, and been dehydrated.

A further procedure which is very important in the process is now described.

Oilfrom any suitable source is flowed throughtheipipe 31 at the. discharge end of the resaturaticn unit- 26 at.or near the oil surface level therein. The oil entering this pipe: 31 is at room temperature, so that. the resaturated clean waste when dumped into piles or containers30-will not tend to be subject to spontaneous combustion.

In any event, oil entering the resaturation unit.26 from.

the pipe 31 flows from the discharge end ofthat unit26=to the entrance end thereof by reason of thefact thata circulation is maintained across that. tank in; thatdirection. It is. tobe remembered that the oil level. ismaintained.

abovethe screen 27 to have the waste completely submerged therein over the screen 27 which screen maintains the waste at the fixed level as it goes:across thetank 26.

The upper layer of oil is particularly in'movement. in the. opposite direction of the moving massof'waste; That:is,. the'waste in tank 26 is movingfromleft'to right as viewed in the drawing, while the oil is moving from right to left. This ctu'rent ofv oil is induced by a pump 32' which takes oilofi from near the bottom of the tank'26.

Oil being removed from the tank 26 by the pump 32' may be taken directly into the adjacent wash tank 23; therebehind to discharge in the upper portion" thereof;

primarily at the surface of the level of the oil therein. Where it is desired to omit steam heating coils within the tank 23, the oil from the pump 32 may be flowed into an outside cleaner and oil heater 33 by closing off a valve in the pipe line 34 which line normally leads to the top of the tank 23 as indicated in the drawing. Valve 35 is opened and valve 36 is opened so that the oil may be circulated by the pump 32 through the oil heater 33 and back into the line 34 and then into the tank 23. Prior to heating the oil in this unit 33, any fibers or foreign matter therein are precipitated at that point so that the oil entering the tank 23 is substantially clean oil again.

In like manner, oil iscaused. to flow across the tank 23 from its discharge end to its inletentl and may normally be taken by a pump 37 up through a line 38 into the top of the wash tank 17 to allow the oil to discharge across the upper surface of the oil level therein. Oil in the tank 23 will of course be dirtier than oil being. discharged irom the tank 26 into the tank 23. Where heater. coils 32a are not employed within the tank 17, the. oil. may again be taken from the pump 37 through an externaL dirt precipitating and oil heating unit 384 in the same manner as was described in reference to the heater 33. it is preferred to use the external unit 380 in order to maintain the oil temperature. range desired as above indicated in the tank 17 and also to provide a cleaner oil.

entering therein. The oil flows primarily longitudinally across the upper portion of the tank 17 above the screen 13 in a direction counter to that. of the oncoming waste. it isto be seen that in both tanks 17 and 23, the waste is constantly moving from a dirtier oil end of the wash tank to a cleaner oil end all within the individual tank. Dirt and short ends of the fibers will be dropped through the screen 18, aided by a downward movement of the oil as it may tend to cool.

From the lower, waste entrance end: of the tank 17,.

oil is taken by any suitable meanssuch as by a pump 39, and at this point, it may be. necessary to cool. the oil through any suitable means such as by a cooling. coil. system 40bef0re it is carried to discharge in the upper end of the discharging end of the initial. wash tank 11. This cooling operation may be requireddue to' the fact that the oil temperature in tank 11 is to be maintained: below the boiling point of water. may not be necessary particularly in winter time when much of. the water will be in a. frozen; state; tending. to cool down the oil inthat tankll rather quickly.

Finally oil is takenzfromthe lower waste admission end of. the. tank. 11 by the pipe line 43 and carriedto a: suitable oil recleaning device so that the oil coming from the. tank 11 after being cleanedmay be returned through the pipe. 31 to startitscirculation. through the system. an above indicated. Where possible; the steam.coils1within the washing tanks may be omittedain orderto. avoid excessive oil turbulence. within. each tank. An excessivezcirr culation from bottom to top and vice versa around the steam coils has a tendency to'keep the dirt suspendedin' the oil rather than to let it precipitate.

There. is a ratio maintained of: the volume ofi fresh:.0il coming into-the system against the Weight'oftheincoming waste. Repeated samples of. oil in each of the. wash tanks. and resatutation tank. are; taken to check for-dirt content so as to. give acheckorr the rateof replacement-of oil required.

It is to beseen thntin the:process.described,. thedirticst oil in each tank is; taken: out of the tank from nearits bottom and carried preferably after an outside: cleaning operation into the. upper end: of" the preceding tank so However this cooling dirtier condition to prevail in the waste than it had before it was dumped into the tank. When the dirt content or rather the dirt concentration by which term is included all the foreign matter to be removed, is brought up to too high a point, as is determined by checking, all of the oil in the tank 11 will be dumped to prevent carrying of too much of the dirt content from the tank 11 into the waste.

In this process, applicant stresses the counter flows of oil and waste plus the feature of initially dropping the incoming dirty waste into oil maintained at temperatures below boiling point of water, and then employing a higher temperature thereafter through the remainder of the washing process and finally employing a room temperature resaturation oil bath.

Further, it is to be observed that in each of the various tanks through which the waste is carried, the waste enters the tank in a zone where there is the least surface travel of the oil theretoward, and leaves each tank in a zone where the current of oil flowing against the waste is at its greatest speed.

While I have herein shown and described my process in the one precise step by step system, it is obvious that variations may be introduced without departing from the spirit of the invention, particularly in the structures employed, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise description beyond the limitations which may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A continuous process of renovating used journal box waste having an oil and a water content including both water absorbed within and free water outside of waste, which process comprises steps in sequence of initially immersing said used waste at one end portion of and over a screen in a bath of lubricating oil maintained at a temperature between below the boiling point of water and approximately 200 degrees F. until the free water separates from the waste and drops through said screen; gently separating the waste fibers in said oil bath allowing said free water to gravitate through the screen; moving the waste gradually from said one end of said oil bath to its opposite end; removing the Waste from said bath and pressing a substantial amount of oil from the waste; immersing the Waste in one end of a second lubricating oil bath over a screen therein; maintaining the temperature of the oil in said second bath above the boiling point of water and Within the range of 260 to 280 degrees F. until substantially all of the absorbed water is removed from the waste; gently stirring, pulling apart, and slowly moving the waste along said second screen from its said one end to its opposite end; removing the waste from said second oil bath; pressing a substantial amount of oil from the waste; and resaturating the waste in a third bath of clean lubricating oil at substantially room temperature.

2. The process of claim 1 including the step of flowing clean lubricating oil horizontally in a current across the upper surface zone of said third bath, and from that third bath horizontally across each of said second and first baths in directions opposing the movement of the waste traversing the baths.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 110,800 Sylvester Jan. 3, 1871 1,483,361 McCarthy Feb. 12, 1924 1,672,289 Tufts June 5, 1928 1,857,812 Hiatt et al. May 10, 1932 1,877,755 Pearce Sept. 13, 1932 2,050,415 Bissell Aug. 11, 1936 

1. A CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF RENOVATING USED JOURNAL BOX WASTE HAVING AN OIL AND A WATER CONTENT INCLUDING BOTH WATER ABSORBED WITHIN AND FREE WATER OUTSIDE OF WASTE, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES STEPS IN SEQUENCE OF INITIALLY IMMERSING SAID USED WASTE AT ONE END PORTION OF AND OVER A SCREEN IN A BATH OF LUBRICATING OIL MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN BELOW THE BOILING POINT OF WATER AND APPROXIMATELY 200 DEGREES F. UNTIL THE FREE WATER SEPARATES FORM THE WASTE AND DROPS THROUGH SAID SCREEN; GENTLY SEPARATING THE WASTE FIBERS IN SAID OIL BATH ALLOWING SAID FREE WATER TO GRAVITATE THROUGH THE SCREEN; MOVING THE WASTE GRADUALLY FROM SAID ONE END OF SAID OIL BATH TO ITS OPPOSITE END; REMOVING THE WASTE FROM SAID BATH AND PRESSING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF OIL FROM THE WASTE; IMMERSING THE WASTE IN ONE END OF A SECOND LUBRICATING OIL BATH OVER A SCREEN THEREIN; MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE OIL IN SAID SECOND BATH ABOVE THE BOILING POINT OF WATER AND WITHIN THE RANGE OF 260 TO 280 DEGREES F. UNTIL SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE ABSORBED WATER IS REMOVED FROM THE WASTE; GENTLY STRIPPING, PULLING APART, AND SLOWLY MOVING THE WASTE ALONG SAID SECOND SCREEN FROM ITS SAID ONE END TO ITS OPPOSITE END; REMOVING THE WASTE FROM SAID SECOND OIL BATH; PRESSING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF OIL FROM THE WASTE; AND RESATURATING THE WASTE IN A THIRD BATH OF CLEAN LUBRICATING OIL AT SUBSTANTIALLY ROOM TEMPERATURE. 